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2 Sheets-Sheet 1 C. AYALA TOY Nov. 21, 1961 Filed Jan. 24, 1958 C. AYALA Nov. 21, 1961 TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 24. 1958 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent O M 3,009,453 TOY Carl Ayala, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, Ill.

Filed Jan. 24, 1958, Ser. No. 710,885 6 Claims. (Cl. 124-27) This invention relates to improvements in dart guns such as may be used in the home by children and others for amusement.

The invention is especially adapted for use in dart guns which are adapted to fire a plurality of darts without the necessity of reloading the gun every time that a dart is fired.

Although some features of the invention are not necessarily limited for use in the home for amusement, it will be described herein as applied to mechanism for firing darts for use in the home and which are preferably spring-actuated and are fired by some type of trigger mechanism. The trigger mechanism is generally adapted to release a latch which serves to hold the spring in compressed condition.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved hand gun of the general type described which will iire a plurality of darts or other missiles Without the necessity of reloading the gun each time a missile is iired. Other objects and advantages accomplished by the invention will become apparent -as the description proceeds.

In the drawings accompanying this application, there is shown a hand gun for ring a plurality, in this case four, darts at a single loading of the gun, and having a revolving magazine or dart holder which may be rotated step-by-step in order to bring each of the darts carried by the magazine successively into firing position. In the present instance, such step-by-step rotation of the magazine is effected by reciprocating on the gun a part having the nature of the fore-stock of a pump gun, one hand of the shooter being used to operate the pump element, while the other end is used to hold the gun by the stock while using one finger to tire it.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the weapon showing the mechanism in full line in normal position, the dotted lines showing the magazine and fore-stock in fully advanced forward position;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the gun shown in FIG- URE l, looking at it from the front and toward the shooter;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is la section taken on the line 5 5 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 6 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of FIGURE 3 showing the method of anchoring ythe propulsion spring in the rear end of each barrel or pocket of the magazine.

The gun shown in the drawings as one exemplication of the invention has a main frame 10 which may be constructed of plastic material, preferably of two mating pieces for convenience in manufacture, and having a hollow handle 11 by which the gun .may be grasped, pointed and fired.

The `frame 10 `also has an integral, forward extension 12, also preferably constructed from a pair of spaced elements 13 between which there is located the bolt or pump element 14, which in the present instance takes the form of a generally at plate disposed between the spacing elements 13 of the frame and adapted to slide forwardly between said elements when the pump element 3,009,453 Patented Nov. 21, 1961 14 is reciprocated fore and aft-wise by means of the handle or fore stock 15 to which the lower side of the bolt or pump element 14 is integrally united. The forward motion of the bolt 14 is limited by a front stop member 16 which extends across the space between the spaced halves 13 of the forward frame extension 12.

The bolt 14 moves in a direction which is parallel to the axis or line of lire of the gun. This is :accomplished by providing two horizontal slots in the left side 17 of the main frame, one a rear slot 18 and the other a forward slot 19 in the extension 12, both of said slots being horizontal. These slots 18 and 19 are long enough to permit free sliding movement of a pair of guide pins 20 and 21 secured to the side of the bolt 14 and projecting into said slots.

It will be apparent that when the fore stock 15 is moved forwardly, the bolt` 14 will move with it in a horizontal direction until the inclined surface 22 of the bolt engages .against the fixed stop 16. Normally, the bolt 14 is held in retracted position as shown in FIG- URE 3, and in full lines in FIGURE l, by means of a coiled wire compression spring 23 carried by -a pin 24 -xed in the frame near the upper end of the handle 11. One arm 25 of said coiled spring extends upwardly and abuts against the front of a lateral lug or projection on the rear end of the bolt 14. The other end 26 of said spring 23 engages against a lateral lug 27 on the side of the relatively xed flat trigger element 28, which will be described later in more detail.

The magazine of the gun, designated at 29 as a whole, is arranged to accommodate four equally spaced darts 30 of conventional design and having their axes parallel with, and the same distance from, the axis around which the magazine is arranged to rotate step-by-step when the bolt 14 is actuated. This magazine 29 has a rotary disc or circular plate 31 having its axis parallel with the line of re and normally abutting against the front end or rim of a circular cavity 32 located 'above the bolt 14. Normally, said circular plate 31 yis held in its rearward position by a lug 33 extending upwardly from the edge of the spring pressed bolt 14.

United to the rear face of the magazine mounting plate 31 there is a sleeve 34 which is arranged to slide upon a tubular guide or bearing member 35 disposed in the rear end 36 of the `central chamber of the frame.

Said guide 35 is fixed in the frame in a position coaxialwith the axis of rotation of the magazine. The front portion of .the guide or bearing tube 35 upon which the magazine rear extension 34 is adapted to slide is cylindrical, so that the magazine will rotate freely thereon. Said tube is held in the frame by four webs or lugs, such as indicated at 37, which connect the bearing tube 35 to the walls of the frame parts which surround the cavity 36.

The magazine is propelled in its forward stroke by a lug 38 on the rear end of the bolt 14, which lug 38 engages the annular rear end 39 of the sleeve 34 on the rear end of the magazine. The rear face 39 of the sleeve is arranged in a vertical plane, perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve, and rotary movement of the sleeve 314 and the magazine of which it is a part, can take place during the reciprocation of the bolt 14. Such rotary step-bystep movement, which is employed in order to bring the darts successively into firing position, is effected by a camming action between the parts carried respectively by the magazine and the fixed frame of the gun. In the present instance, I employ a barrel cam engaging or e11- gaged by one or more cooperating pins. I find it convenient, in the present embodiment, to form the barrel cam surfaces on the exterior of the reciprocating sleeve 34. These cam surfaces or grooves are of a radial depth of about one-half of the thickness of the wall of the sleeve 34 and, as shown in FIGURE 3, they comprise four connected cam-grooves 40, one for each of the dart positions and each shaped in the form of an inverted V occupying 90 of the circumference of the cam. Thus, each movement of the magazine and xed cam follower 41, in between the two feet of the V will move the magazine 90, and four movements will rotate the magazine a complete revolution.

In some instances, it is preferable to employ a pair of the cam pins 41 arranged diametn'cally opposite to each other. Said pins 41 may be the inner ends of small fixed studs 42 extending from the inside wall of the charnber 32, `as indicated in FIGURE 4. As indicated in FIG- URE 3, in the normal position, the junctures of the V- shaped cams constitute pockets at the forward end of the continuous cam groove and the pins 41 fit into said pockets in the normal rest position. Also, in that position, the teeth or guiding projections 43 and 44 which define the grooves of the cam are off-set circumferentially so that when the magazine moves forwardly under the influence of the bolt, 14, the pin 41 will not clash with the point 43, but will engage the sloping surface of the cam and the rotary movement will be positively and smoothly effected, always in the same direction.

I will now describe the means for storing the darts in the magazine so that four darts may be fired without having to reload the magazine. To the front surface of the base plate 31 of the magazine, there is united a structure which comprises a central tube or cylinder 45 around which are positioned a series of four dart-receiving pockets which, in the present instance, take the form of tubes or barrels 46, each adapted to receive one of the darts 30 and its associated compression spring 47 for projecting the dart from its barrel or pocket. The rear end of this compression spring 47 is anchored to the front face of the plate 31 by means of a small, arrow-shaped lug 48 which is secured to the plate, preferably by cementing the tail end 49 of the lug 48 into an aperture in the plate 31. It will be observed that the maximum transverse dimension of the lug 48 is slightly greater than the internal diameter of the end coil of the spring 47 so that when the spring is forced down over the lug 48, the end coil will be expanded and forced over the barbs of the lug and will thus be locked behind the barbs, thereby permanently retaining the spring in the barrel thereafter.

The shank of the dart 30 is of the proper diameter to slide freely in the barrel 46 and is of such length that when the dart is pushed manually into the barrel 46, so as to fully compress the propulsion spring 47, the rear head 50 will reach a position such that the shoulder 51 surrounding the neck 52 of the dart will pass behind the edge of a spring latch element 53. Said element 53 is carried on the rear end of the latch bar 54 which has a flange 55 anchored to an inwardly extending flange 56 on the outer end of the tube 45. The latch 53- extends through a slot 57 cut in the wall of the tube 45` and is of such length that when the fiexible latch bar 54 lies in contact with lthe inner wall of the tube 45, the edge of the latch 53 will be in proper position to snap behind the head 50 of the dart when the dart is pushed into the barrel.

The trigger mechanism for operating the latch 53 and thus firing the Weapon will now be described. The aperture 58 for receiving the finger of the shooter is located in a convenient position in advance of the handle 11, and the trigger element 28 has a front portion 59 extending into said hole 58 so that the trigger may be pulled rearwardly by the finger of the shooter. The rear end of the finger plate 28 is tapered and curved and extends upwardly into the cavity 36, the rear upper end of the trigger being vertically slotted as shown at 60 to receive a transverse pin 61 set into one or both of the side pieces of the frame structure 10, and serving to locate the position of the trigger element in a fore and aft direction.

Immediately below the lower end of the slot 60 in the finger, there is a forwardly extending bar 62. A short distance to the rear of the magazine plate 31, there is fixed on said trigger bar 62 a circular collar or flange 63, which is located in the front end of the guide-tube 35 and which is of such diameter as to fit loosely within the internal diameter of said guide-tube 3S. The interior diameter of said guide-tube 35, as shown best in FIGURE 4, is large enough to accommodate the trigger bar 62 in a central position with plenty of clearance so that when the front end 59 of the trigger is pulled back by the finger, there is ample room for the trigger to rock on the collar 63 `at the front end of the bar 62, said collar 63 thus serving as a pivot for the trigger. Also, the upward 'movement of the rear end of the trigger, due to the rocking movement of the same, will be taken care of by the slot 60.

It will be observed that the rotary magazine plate 31 is made with a central orifice 64 which is large enough to accommodate a forwardly projecting tongue or arm 65 forming a forward extension of the trigger bar 62. As shown best in FIGURE 3, the oblique, upwardly slanting end 66 of said tongue 65 is made with an integral toe or finger 67, which is less in thickness than the thickness of the latch bar 54. Hence the toe 67 will fit loosely between the inside face of the Wall of the tube 45 and a small plate 68 secured to the end of the latch bar 54 and extending rearwardly beyond the latch hook 53 and beyond the forward end of the toe 67.

In the normal position of the weapon shown in FIG- URE 3, the horizontal fore-and-aft spacing between the front face of the magazine base-plate 31 and the rear face of the sleeve 34 is slightly less than the distance between the lugs 38 and 33 on the bolt 14. Thus, in view of the fact that the spring 25 tends to move the bolt rearwardly, there will be a slight clearance between the lug 38 and the rear face of the sleeve 34. However, when the fore stock 15 is grasped by the front hand and pushed forwardly, the lug 38 will engage the rear face of the sleeve 34 and push the whole magazine structure forwardly. During the first part of this forward movement, there lwill be merely a sliding movement of the magazine on the guide-tube 35, but as soon as the cam pin 41 is engaged by a rear sloping surface of the cam groove in the sleeve 34, the sleeve 34 will be rotated in a direction which is clockwise, viewed from the rear.

As the bolt 14 is moved forwardly, the sloping surface 22 at its front end will finally engage the sloping abutment on the frame 10, and by that time, the barrel-cam will be seated on the stationary pin 41. Upon returning the Ibolt 14 to normal rearward position, so as to retract the magazine, the front cam surface in its turn will engage the stationary pin 41. Thus, the magazine will be rotated through an angle of in a clockwise direction as a result of each to-and-fro reciprocation of the bolt 14.

It will be observed that during the reciprocating movement of the bolt 14, the front arm 26 of the trigger spring 23 is stationary. This is due to the fact that upward movement of the forward end of the trigger bar extension 65 is always prevented by the inside of the magazine tube 45, Iwhich thus serves as a stop. When the bolt 14 moves forwardly, the arm 25 of the spring 23 will compress the spring, and this in turn will cause the latch release finger 67 to be pressed more firmly upwardly in contact with the tube 45. This is a safety factor, minimizing damage due to careless operation of the weapon.

Various features of the invention which are believed to ybe new are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A dart revolver for firing darts, said revolver comprising a frame provided with a handle and a trigger, a magazine rotatable on said frame on an axis parallel with the line of tire and provided at its rear end with an access opening, and having a plurality of pockets adapted to receive and hold a plurality of darts having their axes parallel with the magazine axis and spaced circumferentially around said access opening, each of said pockets being adapted to receive and hold a single dart for ring therefrom, said magazine including propelling means which tends t0 propel said darts out of said pockets when they are received therein, magazine operating, longitudinally reciprocating means on said frame providing a pump action for eiecting -a step-by-step rotary movement of the magazine to bring the darts successively into tiring position, said reciprocating means being operable independent of said trigger, a latch means for holding each of said darts in its pocket against said propelling means and a trigger actuated mechanism extending `forwardly through said opening for operating said latch means to unlatch the darts separately when in tiring position.

2. A dart revolver for ring darts, said revolver comprising a frame provided with a handle and a trigger, a magazine rotatable on said frame on an axis parallel with the line of tire and provided at its rear with an access opening, and having a plurality of barrels adapted to receive and hold a plurality of darts having their axes parallel with the magazine axis and spaced circumferentially around said access opening, each of said barrels adapted to receive `and hold a single dart for Iiring therefrom, magazine operating, longitudinally reciprocating means on said frame providing a pump action for effecting a stepby-step rotary movement of the magazine to bring the darts successively into firing position, said reciprocating means being operable independent of said trigger, a compression spring in the rear end of each of said barrels, a latch means for holding each of said darts in its pocket when the spring is compressed Iby the dart, and a trigger actuated mechanism extending forwardly through said opening for operating said latch means to unlatch the darts separately when in tiring position.

3. A dart revolver for firing darts of the type which comprise an elongated shaft and an enlarged suction cup at one end thereof, said revolver comprising a frame provided with a handle and a trigger, a magazine rotatably mounted on the forward end of said frame on an axis parallel with the line of re, said magazine having an access opening at its rearward end, said magazine having a plurality of pockets which open forwardly and outwardly from the vforward end of said revolver, said pockets being spaced circumferentially around said access opening with their axes generally parallel with the magazine axis, each of said pockets being suliciently large to receive the shaft of one of the darts adapted to be red by the revolver but sufiiciently small to prevent it from receiving the enlarged suction cup of the dart, each of said pockets including propelling means which tends to propel the dart out of said pocket when the dart is received therein, magazine operating, longitudinally reciprocating means on said frame providing a pump action for effecting a stepby-step rotary movement of the magazine to bring the darts successively into tiring position, said reciprocating means being operable independent of said trigger, a latch means for holding each of the darts in its pocket against said propelling means, and a trigger actuated mechanism extending forwardly through said opening for operating said latch means to unlatch the dar-ts separately when in tiring position.

4. A dart revolver for tiring darts, said revolver comprising a frame provided with a handle and a trigger, a magazine rotatable `on said frame on an axis parallel with the line of re and provided at its rear end with an access opening, and having a plurality of barrels adapted to receive and hold a plurality of darts having their axes parallel with the magazine axis and spaced circumferentially around said access opening, magazine operating means for effecting a step-by-step rotary movement of the magazine to bring the darts successively into tiring position, said magazine operating means including a bolt element mounted for longitudinal reciprocal movement on said frame providing a pump action, said bolt element being operable independent of said trigger, and cam means which is connected to said magazine and which is actuated by said bolt element so as to translate the reciprocal movement of said bolt element to the rotary movement of said magazine, a compression spring in the rear end of each of said barrels, a latch means for holding each of said darts in its pocket when the spring is compressed by the dart, and a trigger actuated mechanism extending forwardly through said opening for operating said latch means to unlatch the darts separately when in firing position.

5. A dart revolver for tiring darts, said revolver comprising a frame provided with a handle and a trigger, a magazine rotatable on said frame on an axis parallel with the line of re and provided at its rear end with an access opening, and having a plurality of barrels adapted to receive and hold a plurality of darts having their axes parallel with the magazine axis and spaced circumferentially around said access opening, magazine operating means for eiecting a step-by-step rotary movement of the magazine to bring the darts successively into firing position, said magazine operating means including a bolt element which is mounted yfor longitudinal reciprocal movement on said frame providing a pump action, said bolt element being operable independent of said trigger, and cam means which is actuated by said bolt element for translating reciprocating motion to rotary motion, said cam means comprising cooperating relatively movable elements including a barrel cam element and a pin cam element, one of said cam elements being secured to said magazine and the other of said elements being secured to said frame, said bolt element engaging said magazine to reciprocate it and the cam element secured thereto, thereby moving said cam elements relative to one another and actuating said cam means to cause said magazine to rotate, a compression spring in the rear end of each of said barrels, a latch means for holding each of said darts in its pocket when the spring is compressed by the dart, and a trigger actuated mechanism extending forwardly through said opening for operating said latch means to unlatch the darts separately when in firing position.

6. A dart revolver for tiring darts, said revolver comprising a frame provided with a handle and a trigger, a magazine rotatable on said frame on an axis parallel with the line of lire and provided at its rear end with an ac- .cess opening, and having a plurality of barrels adapted to receive and hold a plurality of `darts having their axes parallel with the magazine axis and spaced circumferentially around said access opening, magazine operating, longitudinally reciprocating means on said frame providing a pump action for effecting a step-by-step rotary movement of the magazine to bring the darts successively into tiring position, said reciprocating means being operable independent of said trigger, a compression spring in the rear end of each of said barrels, a latch means for holding each of said darts in its pocket when the spring is compressed by Ithe dart, said latch means including a latch plate which is spaced from the Wall defining said access opening, and a trigger actuated member which extends forwardly through said opening to a position between said latch plate and said defining Wall, said member being moved inwardly when said trigger is actuated to engage said latch plate and move it to unlatch one of said darts.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,371,059 Mendles Mar. 6, 1945 2,437,728 Drumheller Mar. 16, 1948 2,509,552 Wolf May 30, 1950 2,609,811 Lawrence Sept. 9, 1952 2,625,927 Rosenbloom Jan. 20, 19'53 2,737,942 Horowitz et al. Mar. 13, 1956 

